Foods That Reduce Bloating
Everyone knows the discomfort of feeling bloated from time to time. Your stomach feels too full, and your clothes might even feel tighter. Sometimes a big meal can cause bloating. Other times, it can be brought on by a medical condition. The good news is that you can prevent that discomfort by eating more foods that reduce bloating and avoiding foods that can cause it.
When you experience bloating, sometimes your diet can be the culprit. By paying attention to the foods you eat, you can help prevent bloating, as well as support your digestive health.
Make Friends With Digestive Enzymes
In a pinch, digestive supplements containing ingredients like amylase, lipase, protease, or HCL might help get rid of bloating quickly. These key ingredients are meant to aid the digestive process and can reduce gas production. Incorporating a high-quality capsule of digestive enzymes before big meals can make a world of difference in reducing bloating.
Essentially, enzymes are meant to aid your body’s natural digestion to better break down the food you consume and to minimize indigestion and, in turn, excess bloating and gas. Snyder likes Solluna’s Feel Good Digestive Enzymes . Hum’s Flatter Me supplement, $26, with a blend of 18 enzymes, also promises bloat relief.
How To Get Rid Of Gas Pains And Bloating
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The average adult passes gas between 13 and 21 times a day. Gas is a normal part of the digestion process. But if gas builds up in your intestines and youre unable to expel it, you may start to feel pain and discomfort.
Gas pain, bloating, and flatus frequency can be exacerbated by anything that causes diarrhea or constipation. Gas can also be caused by:
- swallowing air while you eat or drink
Make an appointment with your doctor if your gas symptoms:
- cause you distress
- change suddenly
- are accompanied with constipation, diarrhea, or weight loss
Your doctor can determine the underlying cause. If you dont already have a primary care provider, you can browse doctors in your area through the Healthline FindCare tool.
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How Can I Prevent Stomach Bloating
If your stomach bloating is caused by diet or alcohol, you can help prevent it by making some lifestyle changes. Some good general guidelines include:
If the cause of your bloated stomach is something more specific, such as specific food intolerance, perimenopause or a medical condition, you might need a little help with diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Some options include:
Behaviors Food Choices And Activity
Eating behaviors and other habits such as gum chewing, gulping foods and drinking with eating can cause us to swallow air. Bulky foods such as lettuce, cabbage, and dense breads not chewed into small enough pieces increase swallowed air.
Typically, swallowed air contains oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. It tends to not have a foul smell, but it does contribute to the discomfort associated with gas.
People vary widely in how sensitive they are to gas production. Keeping a food record to document incidences of gas in relation to foods eaten can shed light on whether food or behavior may be aggravating the situation.
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You’re Drinking More Alcohol Than Usual
“Alcohol is a toxin, and the body recognizes it as such,” Feller says. “It’s an inflammatory substance that causes swelling and water retention in the body.” Alcohol, when consumed in excess and consistently over time, can also wipe out beneficial bacteria in the intestines, creating digestive distress, gas, and bloating. If you’re really struggling with feelings of bloatedness, limit your alcohol intake. You may also want to avoid other carbonated beverages and beverages with artificial sweeteners which can contribute to gut discomfort.
Minimizing Stress Related Digestive Issues
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Food Intolerance And Bloating
Food intolerance can lead to bloating when:
- your bowel does not empty properly
- the food causes gas to be trapped
- too much gas is produced as a reaction to the food
The most common foods to cause problems are wheat or gluten and dairy products.
The best approach if you have a food intolerance is to eat less of the problem food or cut it out completely.
Keep a food diary for a couple of weeks, noting everything that you eat and drink and when bloating troubles you most. But do not get rid of food groups long-term without advice from your GP.
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How Do I Get A Flat Stomach Overnight
- Try abdominal massage: Does abdominal massage relieve constipation? Yes, it can and that can help bloat! Take a low perfume cream and gently massage your belly. You may find that this stimulates the colon to get into action, thus relieving your problems.
- Take a warm bath: A warm bath serves a lot of purposes. Not only can it help you debloat fast but it can also reduce stress levels by giving you the all important me-time thats essential to feeling good. Try adding epsom salts for an extra fizzy bath!
- Eat regularly: Dont graze all day. Instead, eat 3 healthy meals a day with snacks that are meant to help with bloating.
- Keep a food diary: If you write down what you eat, the visual often helps you to eat sensibly and prevents too much snacking on foods like sugary, overprocessed stuff that causes bloat.
But seriously, as I have mentioned before, go for a walk. Daily. It is hands down one of the best ways to get rid of bloat.
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Take Time To Meditate
The older, wiser, less-bendy sister of yoga, meditation is an amazing activity that people can reap major rewards from. A 2014 study in Eating Behaviorsfound that individuals who meditate are less likely to overeat or give in to emotional eatingand this is key if you want to stay on track with your anti-bloat plan over the next day. To get started, unroll a yoga mat or sit on a carpet in a sunny room and take five uninterrupted minutes thinking about something that you’re grateful for.
Cool It On The Carbonated Beverages
Sorry in advance to all of the fizzy beverage lovers out there. Carbonated drinks, including some cocktails, are actually a sneaky cause of bloating because those bubbles can lead to excess gas in the digestive tract. Trade-in your La Croix for a tea or flavored water to get your afternoon fix. You can find ideas on ways to spice up your water here.
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Combating Bloating With A Healthy Diet
Dont Eat Two Hours Before Bed
Just like eating quickly can cause extra air to enter the stomach, eating too soon before bed can cause gut issues, since your body doesnt have enough time to digest before sleep. By making sure youre not giving your body extra work, it can focus on digesting the food thats already in your stomach â and avoid bloating in the morning.
Mancella notes that while you might want to get rid of your bloat as fast as possible, its important to be wary of too-quick fixes. If a fast-fix detox promises instantaneous results, expect it to be overpromising and under delivering, she says. Detox teas can also stimulate a diuretic effect and cause discomfort and simply add negative symptoms like gas to the mix. The most important thing to do is to be very in tune with our bodies to determine the main cause in order to prevent this from reoccurring, she says. You know your body best treat it with kindness, and itll be kind right back.
This article was originally published on May 18, 2016
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Knowing When To See A Doctor
Choose Foods That Arent As Filling
Different foods fill you up, and it goes beyond the amount of fibre they have.
This is known as the satiety index and it looks at the most common foods and ranks them by how filling they are.
Heres the quick lowdown on what the study shows:
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Food |
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How To Get Rid Of Gas
Often, your gas is caused by what you eat. Food is digested primarily in your small intestine. What is left undigested is fermented in your colon with bacteria, fungi, and yeast, as part of digestion. This process produces methane and hydrogen, which are expelled as flatus.
For many people, changing dietary habits is enough to alleviate gas and its accompanying symptoms. One way to determine which foods are giving you gas is by keeping a food diary. Common culprits include:
- foods with high fat content
- fried or spicy food
- artificial ingredients commonly found in low-carbohydrate and sugar-free products, such as sugar alcohol, sorbitol, and maltitol
- beans and lentils
- cruciferous vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli
- prunes or prune juice
- foods containing lactose, such as milk, cheese, and other dairy products
- fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols molecules found in a wide range of foods, such as garlic and onion, that may be hard to digest
- over-the-counter fiber drinks and supplements
Once you figure out what food is causing the gas, you can modify your diet to avoid the culprit.
If changing your diet doesnt completely do the trick, you have several options to try.
Skip Your Morning Cup Of Coffee
As much as we love the benefits of coffee, drinking it when you’re trying to get rid of belly bloat in 24 hours or less is a no-no.
“Consuming beverages that are high in sugar or caffeine can not only be dehydrating but, in some cases, can add to excess calorie intake, too,” explains Smith. When your body is dehydrated, it will hold onto water, which causes excessive bloating.
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Deflating Postmeal Bloat Is Simpler Than You Think
Is the holiday season bringing out your extra-indulgent side? It happens and you may end your holiday dinner feeling like your bellys bulging from all that food.
Does it seem like your stomach just tripled in size? Rest assured, thats not the case, according to Brigham and Womens Hospital. Rather, its likely just gas. Its caused by excess air or gas in the gastrointestinal tract, says Rachel Doyle, RDN, the Chicago-based owner of RAD Nutrition who focuses on gut health. When we eat, carbohydrates are broken down, and their fiber is fermented, producing gas that expands, which can lead to bloating.
Unpleasant as it is, its generally not something to worry about. Typically, bloating is not a sign of anything serious, especially if it is only occurring after large meals, says Pam Fullenweider, RD, the founder of Fully Mediterranean in Houston.
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If its chronic, however, visit your healthcare provider to rule out something more serious. If you are experiencing bloating frequently, its always a good idea to explore this further with a doctor or dietitian to determine the root cause and rule out any underlying medical conditions, Fullenweider says.
Even your run-of-the-mill bloating can be a pain, though. The good news is you dont have to just sit uncomfortably and wait it out. Follow these seven quick tips to get rid of bloating and return to the holiday merriment.
Avoid Foods That Make You Gassy
In order to figure out if particular foods make you bloat or leave you feeling constipated, it’s a good idea to try and keep a food diary for a few days or weeks.
Some fiber-rich foods are known to make people create an excess of gas in their intestines. If you can completely avoid the foods that make you gassier than others, it will probably be the easiest way for you to reduce your chances of bloating.
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Eat Slowly So You Don’t Gulp Air
When you finally get home after a long day, you’re totally famishedwe get it. But that doesn’t mean you should scarf down your dinner in a hurry. Eating too quickly causes you to swallow excess air, which can lead to uncomfortable gas and bloating. Slowing down the chewing with your mouth closed, on the other hand, can have the opposite effect. Fight off the urge to engorge your entire meal by snacking on something like a small piece of fruit or an ounce of nuts before dinner is ready.
How Can I Get More Fiber Fast
Wanting to know how to get more fiber fast is a good question. Why? As Ive said, eating more fiber is a long term solution to getting rid of bloat. Fiber provides carbohydrates from plant sources just remember that fiber is best taken in whole fruits and vegetables with seeds and the skins on.
Ive mentioned sweet potatoes and quinoa, chia seeds and flax. Aim for 25grams of fiber for females and 38grams for males.
Also try oatmeal, brown rice, nuts, blueberries, kale and pears. Eat slowly to avoid gas buildup in the intestines. Savor your food and treat your gut kindly by chewing your fibrous food to not cause discomfort.
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